The purpose of this unit is to teach students about the importance of photosynthesis. I will show the path that CO2, O2, H2O, and light take to create glucose. I will discuss the chemical equation dealing with both Photosynthesis and Respiration, and how these both work together in the environment. I will discuss the parts of a leaf/plant that are involved in photosynthesis. Students will be able to explain how photosynthesis affects their lives. In addition to notes from the book, homework assignments, and other handouts students will complete both a lab and a Photosynthesis project.
The Photosynthesis project is very important will take up many class days. In addition to these class days some things must be done outside of class. To ensure that this project doesn't turn into a last minute, night before, one man show i will be assigning milestones that the groups must meet. Each group needs to come up with an idea for a game and then create the game. This game must show the path that energy takes from the sun through the different processes and finally into a molecule of glucose. The first milestone is a rough draft and a rough sketch of the project. This rough draft can consist of the idea for the game and how they will go about completing it after brainstorming as a group. The second milestone is research the group has done on photosynthesis from any and all resources they can find. The third milestone consists of directions on how to play the game and materials that the groups need to make the game board or continue making the game board. Finally the projects will be due and each group will bring in their games and students will play the games.
In this unit during much of the first week each day will consist of some note taking and as we go through the weeks it takes to finish the unit it will become more hands on and project oriented. Most days will have an assessment whether it be exit slips, KWL charts, homework, or labs. Everyday I will try to allow the students a chance to relate how photosynthesis is necessary to their life and how it keeps our environment proceeding the way it does. It is my hope that by the end of the unit the projects will reflect an understanding of what we had been going over in class.
Learning Performances and Standards
LS 1- all living organisms have identifiable structures and characteristics that allow for survival(organisms, populations, and species)
LS1 (9-11) INQ+SAE+FAF -1
Use data and observation to make connections between, to explain, or to justify how specific cell organelles produce/regulate what the cell needs or what a unicellular or multi-cellular organism needs for survival (e.g., protein synthesis, DNA replication, nerve cells).
1a
explaining the relationships between and amongst the specialized structures of the cell and their functions (e.g. transport of materials, energy transfer, protein building, waste disposal, information feedback, and even movement).
1b
explaining that most multicellular organisms have specialized cells to survive, while unicellular organisms perform all survival functions. (e.g. nerve cells communicate with other cells, muscle cells contract, unicellular are not specialized). Students demonstrate understanding of differentiation by…
1c
comparing the role of various sub-cellular structures in unicellular organisms to comparable structures in multicellular organisms (e.g. oral groove, gullet, food vacuole in Paramecium compared to digestive systems in multicellular organisms).
Student Misconceptions-
For many people it is hard to understand how life work on a cellular level or inside plants and animals. Many students may even have the idea that things in the environment just happen without understanding how they happen. I'm sure students have many different ideas as to how we get Oxygen. Some of the lessons will make some of the different cycles and inner workings of plants more clear. LS 2- Matter cycles and energy flows through an ecosystem.
3a
defining and giving an example of equilibrium in an ecosystem.
3b
describing ways in which humans can modify ecosystems and describe and predict the potential impact
(e.g. human population growth; technology; destruction of habitats; agriculture; pollution; and atmospheric changes).
4a
diagramming the energy flow in an ecosystem that compares the energy at different trophic levels.
(e.g. What inferences can you make about energy “loss”& use?).
4b
explaining how the chemical elements and compounds that make up living things pass through food webs and are combined and recombined in different ways(e.g. nitrogen, carbon cycles, O2, & H2O cycles).
Student Misconceptions-
This standard gets into the different trophic levels and everything that goes into keeping the envionrment flowing and cycling the way it needs to. Students can't always see how something that an organism does that may seem random is not necessarily so and could play a huge role in keeping our ecosystem at equillibrium.
Identify what ideas in what standards you are addressing. Be sure to "unpack" the standards you use to state its subtopics, what students need to understand before addressing this standard, and the probable misconceptions that students may hold. Once you have your standards, you should state your learning objectives for the unit in terms of learning performances that express the cognitive work students will be able to do with what you are teaching them. Use our list of science practices as a resource. Note: You are encouraged to use the standards you or someone else has already unpacked in this class.
Outline, Concept Map, or other Graphical Representation of the Concepts Addressed in the Unit
Assessment has many different forms, and I have decided to do some forms of assessment that are graded and some that aren't. My big assessment is a project that involves groups of two students each making a game that involves the knowledge they have gained during the photosynthesis unit. This Project will last three weeks with multiple days of in class time to work. Instead of a test at the end of this unit I will be using this project. As the students work on this project they will have certain milestones that they will meet. I want these milestones in place so students do not just wait until the end to do the project.
Along with the Photosynthesis project students will fill out a version of a KWL chart that is intended to state what the students do know, don't understand, and want to know more about. I intend to use this KWL chart to go back over some of what we have done in the unit because I want the students to understand Photosynthesis. Students will also do a lab that will include a short lab report that is intended to show understanding and allow students to analyze and discuss results as a class. Small homework assignments will be given almost everyday to encourage students to study or do a little bit of work every night.
Some ways formative assessment will be used daily is through questions i ask at the beginning of class. These questions will come both at the beginning and the end of class. To go along with some of these questions will be exit slips that I will collect in order to review topics that are difficult for the students and to gauge what topics students may understand. Other questions will be more frequent and will come as we discuss different topics. I will call on different people to make sure that students are paying attention and trying to understand what I'm teaching.
We have learned that artifacts are very important in classes. My main artifact that I will be expecting from my students is the game board for the Photosynthesis project along with rules and other necessary parts of the project. The game board will show students understanding of the paths of Photosynthesis. This project will most likely be featured in these students portfolio's so I expect good work from all students. Another artifact the students will do individually is a lab report for the Analyzing Photosynthesis lab. I hope this lab will allow students to analyze what happened in the lab and can give them a chance to connect some of what they learned in class.
Describe how you will assess your students' understanding of the unit's learning goals throughout the unit. These assessments should include formative assessments, e.g. questions that you ask that probe probable misconceptions, embedded assessments, e.g. activity artifacts, and summative assessments, e.g. tests and quizzes. Note: You are encouraged to use the assessment developed in class in this section.
Rationale
Photosynthesis is not the most interesting topic for everybody how ever it has real world impact that many students may not be aware of. I will try to show how photosynthesis really does affect our world and hopefully make them realize that there are a lot of thing that affect them that they don't realize. I used inquiry in a good portion of this lesson in the form of the photosynthesis process that encourages the student to design a game board and game that reflects photosynthesis. I am giving the students guide lines without mapping the same project for all students. This project involves some self discovery along with creativity and working as a team. Inquiry is also involved in the lab that students will perform. The students as a group will perform the lab and analyze their results which should show their understanding of Photosynthesis.
Throughout this unit I assess learning constantly through exit slips, opening questions, and frequent class discussions. I will also be assessing the class mid way through the unit by having each student fill in a chart similar to a KWL chart. I want students to write what they have learned at the half way point of the unit, what they still don't understand, and what they might want to know more about. After the students fill this out I will have a class where we review and possibly go further into detail. I think this will let less students fall behind. I plan on doing these types of reviews frequently when I'm a teacher so hopefully less students will fall behind, and future classes will go smoothyl because more kids will have the back ground knowledge.
VERY IMPORTANT: Your rationale should focus on the following questions: How did you make the topic meaningful for students? How did you make use of inquiry? What are the ways in which you assessed student learning? How did you take account of students' prior experiences and knowledge? How will you sequence lessons so that they support the understanding of the learning outcomes? How will you help students make sense of the materials? Please make use of class readings and discussions in writing your rationale. The rationale is important because it serves as evidence that you are thinking about the unit like a teacher, i.e. going beyond "writing plans" to thinking about how you are going to engage your students with a topic in a way that builds over two or three weeks.
Title: Where would we be without Photosynthesis
Author:Andrew Duquette
Grade Level:10th grade
Course:Biology
Purpose of Unit
The purpose of this unit is to teach students about the importance of photosynthesis. I will show the path that CO2, O2, H2O, and light take to create glucose. I will discuss the chemical equation dealing with both Photosynthesis and Respiration, and how these both work together in the environment. I will discuss the parts of a leaf/plant that are involved in photosynthesis. Students will be able to explain how photosynthesis affects their lives. In addition to notes from the book, homework assignments, and other handouts students will complete both a lab and a Photosynthesis project.The Photosynthesis project is very important will take up many class days. In addition to these class days some things must be done outside of class. To ensure that this project doesn't turn into a last minute, night before, one man show i will be assigning milestones that the groups must meet. Each group needs to come up with an idea for a game and then create the game. This game must show the path that energy takes from the sun through the different processes and finally into a molecule of glucose. The first milestone is a rough draft and a rough sketch of the project. This rough draft can consist of the idea for the game and how they will go about completing it after brainstorming as a group. The second milestone is research the group has done on photosynthesis from any and all resources they can find. The third milestone consists of directions on how to play the game and materials that the groups need to make the game board or continue making the game board. Finally the projects will be due and each group will bring in their games and students will play the games.
In this unit during much of the first week each day will consist of some note taking and as we go through the weeks it takes to finish the unit it will become more hands on and project oriented. Most days will have an assessment whether it be exit slips, KWL charts, homework, or labs. Everyday I will try to allow the students a chance to relate how photosynthesis is necessary to their life and how it keeps our environment proceeding the way it does. It is my hope that by the end of the unit the projects will reflect an understanding of what we had been going over in class.
Learning Performances and Standards
LS 1- all living organisms have identifiable structures and characteristics that allow for survival(organisms, populations, and species)LS1 (9-11) INQ+SAE+FAF -1
Use data and observation to make connections between, to explain, or to justify how specific cell organelles produce/regulate what the cell needs or what a unicellular or multi-cellular organism needs for survival (e.g., protein synthesis, DNA replication, nerve cells).
1a
explaining the relationships between and amongst the specialized structures of the cell and their functions (e.g. transport of materials, energy transfer, protein building, waste disposal, information feedback, and even movement).
1b
explaining that most multicellular organisms have specialized cells to survive, while unicellular organisms perform all survival functions. (e.g. nerve cells communicate with other cells, muscle cells contract, unicellular are not specialized). Students demonstrate understanding of differentiation by…
1c
comparing the role of various sub-cellular structures in unicellular organisms to comparable structures in multicellular organisms (e.g. oral groove, gullet, food vacuole in Paramecium compared to digestive systems in multicellular organisms).
Student Misconceptions-
For many people it is hard to understand how life work on a cellular level or inside plants and animals. Many students may even have the idea that things in the environment just happen without understanding how they happen. I'm sure students have many different ideas as to how we get Oxygen. Some of the lessons will make some of the different cycles and inner workings of plants more clear.
LS 2- Matter cycles and energy flows through an ecosystem.
3a
defining and giving an example of equilibrium in an ecosystem.
3b
describing ways in which humans can modify ecosystems and describe and predict the potential impact
(e.g. human population growth; technology; destruction of habitats; agriculture; pollution; and atmospheric changes).
4a
diagramming the energy flow in an ecosystem that compares the energy at different trophic levels.
(e.g. What inferences can you make about energy “loss”& use?).
4b
explaining how the chemical elements and compounds that make up living things pass through food webs and are combined and recombined in different ways(e.g. nitrogen, carbon cycles, O2, & H2O cycles).
Student Misconceptions-
This standard gets into the different trophic levels and everything that goes into keeping the envionrment flowing and cycling the way it needs to. Students can't always see how something that an organism does that may seem random is not necessarily so and could play a huge role in keeping our ecosystem at equillibrium.
Identify what ideas in what standards you are addressing. Be sure to "unpack" the standards you use to state its subtopics, what students need to understand before addressing this standard, and the probable misconceptions that students may hold. Once you have your standards, you should state your learning objectives for the unit in terms of learning performances that express the cognitive work students will be able to do with what you are teaching them. Use our list of science practices as a resource. Note: You are encouraged to use the standards you or someone else has already unpacked in this class.
Outline, Concept Map, or other Graphical Representation of the Concepts Addressed in the Unit
Concept Map Photosynthesis AD08Lesson Sequence
Photosynthesis Project Rubric and Handout
Photosynthesis ProjectRubric
Lesson 1
Assessment Plan
Assessment has many different forms, and I have decided to do some forms of assessment that are graded and some that aren't. My big assessment is a project that involves groups of two students each making a game that involves the knowledge they have gained during the photosynthesis unit. This Project will last three weeks with multiple days of in class time to work. Instead of a test at the end of this unit I will be using this project. As the students work on this project they will have certain milestones that they will meet. I want these milestones in place so students do not just wait until the end to do the project.Along with the Photosynthesis project students will fill out a version of a KWL chart that is intended to state what the students do know, don't understand, and want to know more about. I intend to use this KWL chart to go back over some of what we have done in the unit because I want the students to understand Photosynthesis. Students will also do a lab that will include a short lab report that is intended to show understanding and allow students to analyze and discuss results as a class. Small homework assignments will be given almost everyday to encourage students to study or do a little bit of work every night.
Some ways formative assessment will be used daily is through questions i ask at the beginning of class. These questions will come both at the beginning and the end of class. To go along with some of these questions will be exit slips that I will collect in order to review topics that are difficult for the students and to gauge what topics students may understand. Other questions will be more frequent and will come as we discuss different topics. I will call on different people to make sure that students are paying attention and trying to understand what I'm teaching.
We have learned that artifacts are very important in classes. My main artifact that I will be expecting from my students is the game board for the Photosynthesis project along with rules and other necessary parts of the project. The game board will show students understanding of the paths of Photosynthesis. This project will most likely be featured in these students portfolio's so I expect good work from all students. Another artifact the students will do individually is a lab report for the Analyzing Photosynthesis lab. I hope this lab will allow students to analyze what happened in the lab and can give them a chance to connect some of what they learned in class.
Describe how you will assess your students' understanding of the unit's learning goals throughout the unit. These assessments should include formative assessments, e.g. questions that you ask that probe probable misconceptions, embedded assessments, e.g. activity artifacts, and summative assessments, e.g. tests and quizzes. Note: You are encouraged to use the assessment developed in class in this section.
Rationale
Photosynthesis is not the most interesting topic for everybody how ever it has real world impact that many students may not be aware of. I will try to show how photosynthesis really does affect our world and hopefully make them realize that there are a lot of thing that affect them that they don't realize. I used inquiry in a good portion of this lesson in the form of the photosynthesis process that encourages the student to design a game board and game that reflects photosynthesis. I am giving the students guide lines without mapping the same project for all students. This project involves some self discovery along with creativity and working as a team. Inquiry is also involved in the lab that students will perform. The students as a group will perform the lab and analyze their results which should show their understanding of Photosynthesis.Throughout this unit I assess learning constantly through exit slips, opening questions, and frequent class discussions. I will also be assessing the class mid way through the unit by having each student fill in a chart similar to a KWL chart. I want students to write what they have learned at the half way point of the unit, what they still don't understand, and what they might want to know more about. After the students fill this out I will have a class where we review and possibly go further into detail. I think this will let less students fall behind. I plan on doing these types of reviews frequently when I'm a teacher so hopefully less students will fall behind, and future classes will go smoothyl because more kids will have the back ground knowledge.
VERY IMPORTANT: Your rationale should focus on the following questions: How did you make the topic meaningful for students? How did you make use of inquiry? What are the ways in which you assessed student learning? How did you take account of students' prior experiences and knowledge? How will you sequence lessons so that they support the understanding of the learning outcomes? How will you help students make sense of the materials? Please make use of class readings and discussions in writing your rationale. The rationale is important because it serves as evidence that you are thinking about the unit like a teacher, i.e. going beyond "writing plans" to thinking about how you are going to engage your students with a topic in a way that builds over two or three weeks.
EDC 430 F08 Unit Plan Eval - Andrew D